Mio Amakura
Mio Amakura is the main character in Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, and also makes a cameo appearance in Fatal Frame III: The Tormented. Mio is also the younger identical twin of Mayu Amakura, She is a direct descendant of Dr. Kunihiko Asou, the creator of the Camera Obscura and Spirit Stone Radio. Mio and her sister have always been together, however, as the two become trapped in the Lost Village and the events of the past unfold, Mio must face incredible darkness if she and her sister are ever to escape. Background Mio and Mayu grew up in the Minakami region, where they frequently played in the forest. One day, while running down a high forest path, her older twin sister Mayu slipped off the path and fell, injuring her leg. Since then, Mio has been very protective over her sister, blaming herself for the accident. It was also in the Minakami forest that Mio and Mayu's father disappeared, a mystery that compelled their mother, Shizu Amakura to move the family away from the region. Years later, Shizu fell severely ill, and was subsequently hospitalized. Shizu asked her younger brother, Kei, to look after the girls in her stead, and it is then that they hear of the scheduled building of a dam in the area of their childhood home. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Mio and Mayu are introduced as they reminisce of their childhood in the forests surrounding the Minakami region. A dam will soon be built to flood the region, and so the sisters spend one last day remembering their time there, including the day of Mayu's accident. Suddenly, Mayu leaves Mio's sight as she hypnotically chases a crimson-colored butterfly. After following her sister, the forest grows dark and the two find themselves in All God's Village, a "Lost Village" rumored to spirit away those who come near, and trap them under the village's eternal night. Mio decides to investigate, and after entering the nearest house and exploring, they come across the Camera Obscura and are then attacked by a ghost of a woman who became trapped in the village. With the camera's help, Mio is able to exorcise the spirit, however, she is separated from her sister after the attack, and Mio must search for her and a way to escape the cursed village. Although Mio is able to fend off the hostile ghosts, Mayu is vulnerable to their calls, and she is lured into becoming the next Twin Shrine Maiden to be sacrificed in the village's Crimson Sacrifice Ritual. Mio learns that the ritual consists of the sacrifice of the younger (the first born according to the village's custom) twin, who is thrown into the Hellish Abyss to prevent darkness from entering the world. The ritual is carried out in order to protect the village and ensure peace, but when the last ritual failed, it caused The Repentance, killing all the villagers and wiping the village off the map. In order to free the village from darkness, the ghosts seek to repeat the ritual using Mio and Mayu. Mio hopes to retrieve her sister so that they may escape the village; however, the ghost of the last Twin Shrine Maiden, Sae Kurosawa, has possessed Mayu and is bent on performing the sacrifice through her body. With the help of a white-haired boy named Itsuki , Mio is able to follow her sister and uncover the village's history and customs. Ignoring Itsuki's warnings, Mio follows the possessed Mayu deep into the underground tunnels of the village, where the ritual physically occurs. When she gets there, Mayu is convinced that she must complete the ritual to save the village, and to become one with Mio. Reluctantly, Mio is made to wrap her hands around her sister's neck, strangling her until she is lifeless. Mayu's body is then cast into the Hellish Abyss, and the ritual is complete. Mio, in utter disbelief, cries out for her sister and follows the crimson butterflies that rise from the abyss. Mio chases after the butterflies, saying to her sister that she is sorry, while they break the sky and make way for the sun. Later, Mio is shown sitting on a bench before the newly formed lake. A close-up reveals the mark of the crimson butterfly appearing on her neck, symbolizing her becoming one with Mayu. Alternate endings There are three alternate endings to Mio's story in Fatal Frame II that aren't considered canon, but are achievable nonetheless. One, the Promise Ending, is only available in the Xbox release of the game. Hellish Abyss ending If the player has beaten the game at least once and the game is set to "hard" difficulty, the "Hellish Abyss" ending is achieved in the end. After reaching the abyss, Mio confronts her sister, who has become fully possessed by Sae. Mio battles with the insane ghost, and after the final shot, Mio quickly pulls her sister away from Sae's grasp. Sae falls yet again into the abyss, while Mayu hangs on to her sister's hand. While trying to pull Mayu up, Mio accidentally glimpses the into the abyss and is permanently blinded by sight of the writhing, tormented souls at its bottom. Later, both sisters are shown looking towards the newly formed lake, and Mayu comments on how it is her turn to look after Mio from now on. Promise Ending This ending is achieved by playing at "Nightmare" difficulty on the Xbox version of the game. After pursuing her sister and reaching the abyss, the ghosts of the Veiled Priests suddenly disappear, and Yae Kurosawa's spirit emerges from Mio's body. Mayu, now possessed by Sae, turns to face her, and after apologizing, Yae joins with her sister and the two decide to complete the ritual together. Before they jump into the abyss, Mio quickly pull's her sister's body away from Sae. The Kurosawa twins fall and later emerge as a single crimson butterfly, uttering a "thank you" to Mio and Mayu. As countless other butterflies flutter out of the abyss, the skies above the village clear, and the souls of the villagers are finally at peace. Mayu tells her sister how afraid she was and how she now realizes that Mio has always been with her. Mio adds that she will never let Mayu go again. Runaway Ending Another ending is available on both systems; however, this one results in a "Game Over" rather than completing the game. Mio chooses to leave her sister behind and escape through an underground passage beneath Kureha Shrine. As she runs through the tunnel, she hears Sae's voice asking, "Are you leaving me again?" Mio hesitates at first but remembers that she must not look back. Suddenly, she hears Mayu's voice uttering their promise to stay together. Mio turns around, is rushed by Sae and passes out. After waking up, Mio finds that she has returned to forest where she and her sister were in the beginning. She calls out for Mayu but sees that she is nowhere to be found. As the screen fades to black, Mayu's voice can be heard, saying that she will wait for her sister forever. Fatal Frame III: The Tormented Since escaping the Lost Village and becoming a Remaining, Mio has been wrapped in guilt and grief over losing her sister. Mio felt so much regret that she soon began to enter the Manor of Sleep in her dreams, hoping to be able to join her sister. Mio has been trapped in the dream since, unable to wake up, and her uncle, Kei Amakura, becomes desperate to find a cure. Kei eventually seeks the help of Rei Kurosawa, who has been looking for a way to break the manor's curse since she too, began to dream of it. Kei continues to find out as much as he can about the mysterious manor, and with Rei help, he hopes to put an end to the fearsome curse and rescue his niece. Fate Mio's ultimate fate has not been specified as there are two endings for Fatal Frame III. In the first ending, Kei is taken by the Tattooed Curse and Mio is not shown waking up from the curse. A second ending is available where Kei does survive, and after Rei breaks the curse, Mio is shown in the credits to have broken free as well. Kei later introduces Mio to Rei and Miku Hinasaki, bringing the first three games of the series to a positive ending. In the ending where Mio appears and is introduced to Miku and Rei, Makoto Shibata(director and co-creator of the Fatal Frame series) has stated in an interview and his twitter account that he and the other game staffs considered this to be the canon ending. Appearance Mio dresses in similar manner to her sister, with the same basic color scheme. There are noticeable differences, including Mio's more open shirt, white skirt with leggings that look like pants, and simple black shoes as opposed to boots. Both sisters retain the red bow at the center of their shirts, alluding to the crimson butterflies central to the plot. Mio also has a part in her hair, along the right side of her face. Although she isn't shown for an extended amount of time, Mio appears inside the Manor of Sleep in Fatal Frame III wearing similar clothes to her previous role. During the second ending, however, she is shown being introduced to Rei and Miku wearing a different shirt and skirt,and if you look closer, her outfit bears a slightly to strong resemblance to her school uniform. Alternate costumes :Main article: Fatal Frame II Secrets and Unlockables Including those exclusive to the Xbox version, Mio has a total of 14 unlockable costumes and 5 extra accessories. These include: *Three different colored yukatas *Yae's kimono *An outfit resembling Miku's original costume *A school uniform *A gothic lolita costume *Leather bondage clothes *Four different colored bikins(Xbox only) *A costume alluding to Tecmo's Deception games(Xbox only) *A costume alluding to Tecmo's Dead or Alive series(Xbox only) Related items Files: :*Missing in Minakami (FFIII) Photos: :*Standing Girl (FFIII) Trivia * In the original Japanese, Mio calls her sister Onee-chan (お姉ちゃん), a term of endearment for the elder sister. This is lost in the english translation, however, where Mio simply calls Mayu by her name. This is particularly significant to the village's Crimson Sacrifice Ritual, where the first-born twin is sacrificed, much to Mio's surprise. * Mio's Japanese given name, 澪, contains the character used for the game's Japanese title, 零. * In Fatal Frame III, Mio can be photographed inside of the Kurosawa House cell. The photograph reveals Mayu's spirit watching over Mio. * Mio and her sister make an appearance in the Nintendo Wii game Super Swing Golf. They aren't playable but can be seen through the game's concept art. See Also * Memo Book (FFII) Gallery Mio_Amakura_full1.png|A full body image of Mio Amakura. Mio_Amakura.png|Half body shot Mio_and_Mayu_art1.jpg|Artwork of Mio and Mayu. Mio_and_Mayu2.jpg|Mio looking from behind a tree with her sister behind. Mio_with_ghost_behind.jpg Mio_in_forest.jpg|Mio while in the forest with her sister. Mio_Miyako_Sudo_over_shoulder.jpg|The ghost of Miyako Sudo stalks Mio. Mio_reaches_for_Camera_Obscura.jpg|Mio reaches for the abandoned Camera Obscura. Mio_Camera_Obscura2.jpg|Mio looks from behind the Camera Obscura. Mio_closeup.png|Mio glimpses Sae and the Kusabi's massacre. Mio_in_disbelief.png|Mio, in shock after performing the Crimson Sacrifice. DCB Twins.jpg|Mio and Mayu FFII promotional1.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional2.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional8.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional4.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional5.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional15.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional18.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional23.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional20.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional6.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional9.jpg|Promotional art FFII Promotional10.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional16.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional22.jpg|Promotional art FFII promotional11.jpg Mio Mayu Camera.jpg Mayu saved.jpg Mio and Mayu exploring.jpg FFII promotional7.jpg|Promotional art Fatal Frame.jpg Fatal Frame editing.jpg 130px-TypeH.jpg 130px-TypeG.jpg 130px-TypeF.jpg 130px-TypeE.jpg 130px-TypeD.jpg 130px-TypeC.jpg Category:Characters Category:Fatal Frame II characters Category:Fatal Frame III characters Category:Playable characters Category:Female Characters Category:Fatal Frame II female characters Category:Fatal Frame III female characters